Flame (or fire) retardant materials (additives, ingredients, substances), also referred to as flame (or fire) retardants, are used in manufacturing countless different types and kinds of products encompassed by, or relating to, numerous fields. Such products are commercially used and applied in a wide variety of industries, such as construction (building materials), floors and floor coverings, roofs and roof coverings, furniture, upholstery, carpeting (rugs), clothing (textiles), electrical and electronics equipment, packaging, agriculture, transportation, aerospace, and military. Flame (fire) retardant materials are used for the objective of providing flame (fire) retardant properties to, or improving flame (fire) retardant properties of, such commercially used products.
The most widely used category of flame (fire) retardant materials consists of bromine-based flame (fire) retardant materials, which are made of or from, and include, (organic or/and inorganic) types of bromine compounds or brominated types of (organic or/and inorganic) compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion (ignition, burning) of combustible (ignitable, flammable) materials. Such organic types of bromine compounds or brominated types of organic compounds (i.e., organobromide compounds) are commonly known and referred to as brominated flame retardant (BFR) compounds, or as brominated flame retardants (BFRs).
In processes of, or involving, manufacturing bromine-based flame retardant materials, a large amount of waste in solid form is generated, which, after special handling/processing (to neutralize or/and stabilize potentially hazardous bromine compounds), needs to be disposed of, typically, in a landfill. Such processes are accompanied by costs relating to special handling/processing of the solid waste, costs relating to landfill disposal of the solid waste, and costs relating to unused (non-consumed) bromine leftover in the solid waste. For example, in such processes, each ton (2000 pounds) of (input) raw material (organic or/and inorganic) bromine compounds generates about one-half ton (1000 pounds) of solid waste, of which about 30% is of unused (non-consumed) bromine that is disposed of.
In such processes, the solid waste may contain substantial amounts of unused (non-consumed) bromine. If such unused bromine can be recovered, recycled (reused), or/and used for other applications (e.g., other manufacturing processes requiring bromine then overall costs associated with manufacturing bromine-based flame retardant materials can be significantly reduced and profit increased.